H&M Foundation doubles GCA grant and winners to speed up textile industry transformation

Recyclable and biodegradable polyurethane,food waste polyester,circular dyeing,natural bio-colours,ultra high-performing textiles,seaweed material,AI textile sorting,corn husk and sugarcane fabric,zero waste pattern system,textile-to-textile recycling for polyesters – these are the ten Global Change Award winners 2023,sharing a €2 million grant from the non-profit H&M Foundation.

STOCKHOLM,June 8,2023 -- The Global Change Award is an early-stage innovation challenge seeking bright minds that can transform fashion. Every year,H&M Foundation selects and supports the five most impactful innovations with the ultimate aspiration of a planet positive fashion future. This year,H&M Foundation doubles both grant and winners to speed up the transformation.

"We have an urgent opportunity to support innovations that could transform the entire fashion industry – that's why we're doubling the grant and the number of winners. We're giving these innovators a total of 2 million euros and access to our accelerator program – but we're also giving the industry an opportunity to connect with these brilliant innovators. I'm excited to see the impact these innovators will make on the industry."– Karl-Johan Persson,H&M Foundation board member and chairman of H&M Group.

The Global Change Award 2023 winners are:

Material

Algreen(UK)

ALT TEX(Canada)

KBCols Sciences(India)

Nanoloom(UK)

PhycoLabs(Brazil)

Rethread Africa(Kenya)

Recycling

DyeRecycle(UK)

Refiberd(US)

Tereform(US)

Design

SXD(US)

H&M Foundation launched the GCA to provide the tools,connections,and resources necessary for early-stage innovations to move from idea to scale as quickly as possible. The winners receive €200,000 each and embark on the yearlong GCA Impact Accelerator. H&M Foundation together with GCA's core partners Accenture,KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica offer tailored coaching and support to accelerate their journey from idea to scale.

"There's a wide range of solutions among this year's winners. If scaled,I believe they could have a real impact on the industry – which needs a holistic transformation if we are to reach a planet positive fashion future. We look forward to working with the winners during the accelerator and help enable their innovations to accelerate and scale."– Christiane Dolva,Strategy Lead H&M Foundation.

Neither the H&M Foundation nor the H&M Group take any shareholder equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations and the winners can collaborate with whomever they want.

More information and visuals,free to use,here: https://hmfoundation.bynder.com/web/4e77ef953cd5943d/gca-2023---press-collection/

CONTACT: Jasmina Sofić,Media Relations Responsible,+46 73 465 59 59

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GCA 2023 Winner Call